1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for the removal of part, such as leaf or fruit, from the rest of the crop. The invention relates, for example, to the removal of leaves, fruits and the like from crops, such as tomatoes and cucumbers and the like. To achieve this, there are various proposals in the prior art for the removal of leaves, fruits and the like with the use of a robotic arm to which cutting systems are attached. The robotic arm is moved into the crop and vision techniques are applied to perform separation between the crop and the relevant part of the crop at the desired point.
2. Description of the Related Art
However, the problem often arises that it is not quite possible to separate the part from the rest of the crop at the desired point.
In the case of tomatoes and other crops, for example, it is desirable for the leaves to be removed as close to the main stem as possible. This means that the stalk of the leaf must be cut as close as possible to its attachment to the main stem. If a robot with a cutting blade is moved through the crop, it is often not possible to reach such a position. If force is exerted on the arm in order to reach the required position as yet, this generally only results the main stem being pushed aside. This means that the crop is subjected to undesirable loads and that the objective in mind, i.e. to reach the optimal position separation, is not achieved.
A harvesting device for the harvesting of tea leaves is known from GB 673306, wherein the upper side of a crop is engaged between two rollers and tilted. Cutting in a lower position of the relevant part of the crop is then performed. By gripping the part of the crop between the two rollers, the position of the cutting device does not change.